What are the rules on this? For example, if I create and print a character on the character generator that uses feats/powers from a Dragon magazine, and want to use it at my friends' game, and they don't have memberships, would I be violating some contract if I showed them the information? What about at an RPGA event, where the stuff is legal, but some might not have memberships.
Am I allowed to print out pages from Dragon and take them with me to help remind me of the details that don't appear on the character sheet?
Once my membership ends, am I supposed to delete the downloaded magazines, because I no longer have access to DDi? If I'm allowed to keep using them, then couldn't someone simply once or twice a year get a monthly membership, download all the magazines, update the CG, then cancel at the end of the month?
I checked the EULA under DDi on the subscription page, but that seems to only talk about message board activity. There is virtually no reference to material obtained through DDi.
Generally, I think that you can treat the DDI stuff the same way that you would something from Dragon Magazine back when it was dead-tree or the wy that you would something from a splat book that you have.
Can you print out a copy and bring it to games? Yes.
Can you use stuff you made in games where people don't have memberships? yes.
Do you have to delete stuff when you are no longer a member? No.
The only thing I'd add is about the buying once or twice a year just for the magazines and a CB update. I heard, and cannot cite a source, that they eventually plan to rotate back issues out of the download area. You can make arrangements for replacements if your hard drive crashes, but I think its specifically considered for what you're talking about. No idea when they plan to start doing it.
There is a clause in the EULA about them being able to terminate a license if you're not actvitely subscribed but that's fairly standard in digital media EULAs and likely is in place so they can legally stop your ability to download new content after your subscription ends, not to force you to remove the content you've already paid for. The legal precedent would be against them trying to force people to delete material (files, apps) from a period of time tha they paid for. Just as an MMO can't force you to uninstall the game program when your account goes inactive, only prevent you from logging in and playing during a period you're not subscribed.
Do you have to delete stuff when you are no longer a member? No.
The EULA says otherwise.
The EULA says otherwise.
Nope the EULA says that WotC MAY terminate the license and if they do you could be required to uninstall/delete content. It's not automatic. WotC would have to tell you they're terminating and request (through legal paperwork) that you are to delete the content. Trust me that's not likely to happen, not unless the person did something to somehow steal/hack WotC's servers/IP.
The OP asked about the law, not the EULA.
The best answer on the law and it varies depending on where you live is best answered by an attorney.
Basic guidelines has been indicated concerning law, treat electronic the same as paper. Limited copy may fall into the "Fair Use" however understand that can be very limited before a violation occurs. One guideline was advised for a friend was more then 5 words form a document, without permission of owner, could be a violation therefore policy was not to copy more then 4 words (rewording was considered as an legal option). That is of course one opinion/policy that I know of.
In general copyright law appears to allow copies for personal use and not for any kind of distribution. That is making a copy of a map is to always be in your custody, unless you sell the ezine to somebody else and as part of the sale you give them all copies you have made. That you delete files after sales, never using them between time of sale and deletion.
You do not have to delete what you paid for, unless you sold them.
Making copies to give to others you are not permitted to do by law, unless owner gives you permission. The EULA does not appear to give this permission.
As a practical matter WotC has indicated that as policy they will not go after all copyright violations and accepts the fact that some copies of material will be distributed to players in a game. A player map needs to be given to the players from time to time, the nature of the game requires this information, neither TSR nor WotC has granted a license to do this, it just a matter of policy of not requiring players to purchase the adventure that the DM was running.
Back in the old days TSR granted a license to copy blank character sheets to give to players. This policy is still in place, however without stated legal permission. A filled in character sheet has copyright protection of the player that filled it in and can choose to copyleft it.
Currently WotC has not waved any copyrights which means the law says (or appears to) that a character sheet can not be copied. The player however still has the right to fill in the blanks and waive copyright protection, just as long as they do not publish the underlying character sheet as part of character information.
Currently WotC has not waved any copyrights which means the law says (or appears to) that a character sheet can not be copied. The player however still has the right to fill in the blanks and waive copyright protection, just as long as they do not publish the underlying character sheet as part of character information.
Actually, it says right on the character sheet in the back of the players hand book, and the pack of character sheets you can buy, that you have permission to copy them for personal use. That would cover giving players blank copies for thier characters.
The following are my own thoughts on the situation, given her response to me.
There's an odd discussion going on at the Giant in the Playground site, here, with regards to the use of the information available through D&Di with people who don't have accounts.
What are the rules on this? For example, if I create and print a character on the character generator that uses feats/powers from a Dragon magazine, and want to use it at my friends' game, and they don't have memberships, would I be violating some contract if I showed them the information? What about at an RPGA event, where the stuff is legal, but some might not have memberships.
A: You can use your content for any game you are a player in. Just don't put it into a wide distribution.
Am I allowed to print out pages from Dragon and take them with me to help remind me of the details that don't appear on the character sheet?
A: Yes.
Once my membership ends, am I supposed to delete the downloaded magazines, because I no longer have access to DDi?
A: No.
couldn't someone simply once or twice a year get a monthly membership, download all the magazines, update the CG, then cancel at the end of the month?
A: In theory, this is possible. But you know that this is just a way to cheat the system, so don't do it. Follow your conscience here, and don't be a dick.
I checked the EULA under DDi on the subscription page, but that seems to only talk about message board activity. There is virtually no reference to material obtained through DDi.
Don't forget that no matter what the EULA says, WotC cannot override the law. And the law says that you have the right to make copies for a Fair Use situation. So, use common sense. If you aren't massively distributing the magazines across some P2P network, and you aren't giving your fellow players full access with your account, then you are probably ok.
Beyond that, don't expect an official response on these forums. Legal questions are rarely answered here.
Oh yea, and I am Not a Lawyer.
A: In theory, this is possible. But you know that this is just a way to cheat the system, so don't do it. Follow your conscience here, and don't be a dick.
The language you used made me smile, and laugh. Thanks!
Cause it's true.
Actually, it says right on the character sheet in the back of the players hand book, and the pack of character sheets you can buy, that you have permission to copy them for personal use. That would cover giving players blank copies for thier characters.
Actually personal use does not normally mean giving to somebody else. The owner of the book can make millions of copies for themselves if they have a million characters. As indicated before WotC has a policy of not pursuing that type of coping.
Actually personal use does not normally mean giving to somebody else. The owner of the book can make millions of copies for themselves if they have a million characters. As indicated before WotC has a policy of not pursuing that type of coping.
Actually yes it does mean giving to somebody else. If you make copies, and give to your players to use in your game, you are within your rights. Because that is personal use.
If you charge even a penny for those sheets, you are not. If you trade them for cheetos and beer, you are not.
If you make a million copies, and use them to make a million characters for yourself, you are within your rights.
I'm not a lawyer. I do however work in publishing, namely Educational Publishing where some of the products we create are meant to be copied and handed out.
There is only one kind of copyright laws, and it applies to all things, regardless of it's nature (Entertainment vs Educational). So I've had to learn about copyright laws. And I've filed for copyrights for my own work. It's easy and cheap.
personal use includes the game you are playing in, with your friends. so it is perfectly within your personal use to give them a copied character sheet to fill out. even some pages for their use at the table is ok.
what's not ok would be for them to give them to anyone else, publish them, or reuse them, because that's not what your personal use is.
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as for getting the updates only once or twice per year: well, if WOTC does not provide a service you want mothly, why should you pay for it?
it is perfectly fine for me to get an update only once per year for a character builder - it does not even see much use. back when i was using pcgen, i only used it when i levelled. the rest of the year, it was sitting right there in this tiny folder where i never looked at the rest of the year.
=> this is why i don't get ddi mothly. they offer no valid pricing for people who just want to use the cb for just their tt character. which means, like once per month. i do not pay 5-8$/month for like 10 minutes of using the builder.
Don't forget that no matter what the EULA says, WotC cannot override the law. And the law says that you have the right to make copies for a Fair Use situation.
Err contracts can sometimes replace law. It depends on what legal protection is being denied.
One example I was taught is that a contract to never marry is not legally binding, however a contract not to marry a named person is legal. A contract that has an illegal clause will be voided by the courts, which is why most contracts have a saving clause stating that if one section of the contract is deemed illegal the rest of the contract shall remain binding.
Most credit card agreements have a clause stating the user agrees to be subject to the laws of a locality, some require binding arbitration instead of permission to use the court system. I have not seen this clauses struck down as illegal yet.
A: In theory, this is possible. But you know that this is just a way to cheat the system, so don't do it. Follow your conscience here, and don't be a dick.
I'm going to take a little issue with this - at this point, I don't think it's cheating the system at all - it's a perfectly viable plan. I don't think it's dickish at all - you subscribe, grab what you like, terminate your subscription.
What it is is a monster pain in the ass, but I would have an entirely clear conscience doing this. I toyed with the notion a few weeks ago, but I'd rather not find out in 3 months that they figured out how to restrict content only to the months subscribed - and I don't want to hassle with canceling autorenew again.
Except as provided by this License, you may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, or create derivative works from any information, software, images, products or services obtained from the Feature. The Feature is made available solely for use by end users according to the terms of this License.
A couple clarifications:
1) I would not be one of those people to update twice a year. I was just pointing out that it is possible, and wondering at the ramifications.
2) I understand that it is unlikely in the extreme that Wizards would do something, but it's more a question of if they could. If I print off a character and a couple supporting pages from a Dragon mag, then take those to an RPGA event, the DM, who now has my RPGA number could report my for violating the service agreement (per the above excerpt), and Wizards could deem me in violation of the agreement and cancel/suspend my account. Even though I'm sure they wouldn't, technically, according to the agreement, I would be the one in the wrong. I just don't WANT to be in the wrong.
(in fact, i believe you could then redirect that lawsuit directly at the rpga, who was responsible at you even copying that. )
However, not having the rule handy means if the DM finds your interpretation dodgy, or is unfamiliar with it, or otherwise doubts the power/feat/item in question - without a rules source to back it up, the DM is well within his rights to rule how he sees fit.
Most RPGA DMs just roll with it, but it's always a good idea to have the rule with you. In my/ experience, more and more RPGA players use characters from the Character Builder, which gives more than enough crunch to satisfy GMs.
So in short, while it isn't required, it is a good idea all the same.
=> this is why i don't get ddi mothly. they offer no valid pricing for people who just want to use the cb for just their tt character. which means, like once per month. i do not pay 5-8$/month for like 10 minutes of using the builder.
Yes but in this case the monthly fee isn't soo much about being able to use the Character Builder, Its about the content you get access threw ether threw CB or Downloaded Content.
The thing here is that if you (personally) sign up for 1 month now so that you can use the character builder to make your characters upto level 30 and never subscribe agian because the CB continues to function regaurdless of a current subscription then your probibly fine. Keep in mind doing this would just be like buying the full version of the trial software.
the major problem comes in from if you purchise the subscription once a year just so you have access to all the updated content instead of a continued subscription or buying the books the content has come from. So for your own personal use, your probibly ok since you obviously don't use the character builder or the updated content enough to warrent having a full subscription.
I personally have all the current books and preorders on all the books coming out for the next year aswell as paying my yearly subscription to D&DI. I get alot more use outta character builder than most (mainly because my group kills off my character faster than flys on a bug zapper).
I guess the point of the matter is Don't just get D&DI once a year just because you want access to all the content so you don't have to spend so much on books and stuff.
Yes but in this case the monthly fee isn't soo much about being able to use the Character Builder, Its about the content you get access threw ether threw CB or Downloaded Content.
i could care less for downloaded content. if they offer me a program where i can spend 1$/month, where i have to proove i bought the books to get those contents, and don't get any of that dragon !ยง$&(, then i'll be in. or if they finish well done campaign tools, or a vtt.
before that, it's just not worth it.